Frantic Final Minutes Of TU-SJU

Hey, I know not everyone who reads this blog is a sports person, but above is the last three minutes and change from last night’s Temple-Saint Joseph’s game at the Palestra. It’s everything the best Big 5 games at the Palestra are like. Although the shorts are longer now, basketball games like this have been a part of the Philadelphia landscape for over 50 years. The Liberty Bell? Puh-leeze. Give me this any day.

Although, to the Temple kids: Storming the court? I dunno, I hate complaining about that because I feel like an old man and I’d have stormed the court, too.

Temple edges St. Joseph’s in Palestra thriller [Inquirer]

Villanova Jobbed… Should We Be Happy?

As a Philadelphia college basketball fan, I hate Villanova. That doesn’t mean I never root for Villanova — I went to a Philly school, but it wasn’t St. Joe’s — but they are my least favorite team of the Philly schools. They’re Villanova, of course.

Last night, though, the Wildcats lost to Georgetown on a call that’d make you think the ref had money on the Hoyas (Latin for “Whats”). Here’s what went down on the final play:

With the score tied at 53-53, Scottie Reynolds’ driving layup was blocked by Jeremiah Rivers in the game’s dying seconds and Jonathan Wallace came out of a ferocious scrum with the loose ball. As he turned to launch a heave at the buzzer, Corey Stokes went out to block him and got just the slightest piece of Wallace’s jersey.

The whistle blew with one tenth of a second left.

Wallace strode to the foul line and calmly sank two free throws to give Georgetown a 55-53 win.

As much as I’d like to see Villanova beat Georgetown… well, ha ha, this is a pretty hilarious way to lose a game. Better luck next time, Mainliners!

Villanova-Georgetown postgame [Soft Pretzel Logic]
Villanova - Late foul spoils Villanova’s chance against Georgetown [Daily News]

Reason #50 To Love Philadelphia: The Big 5

Last night was the Holy War, the annual basketball contest between St. Joe’s and Villanova that uses the slaughter of innocents in the name of God as a nickname. But, anyway, it’s usually a game with a decent amount of buildup; the fans are always into it; the two teams sometimes even play a good game.

Last night, though, I watched the entire thing even though it was a terrible game. ‘Nova won, 56-39. But that only scratches it: the two teams combined to shoot 6-for-36 from three-point range, meaning around 30 trips down the court included a long shot that clanked or airballed. (Threes are almost a mid-range jumper in college.)

But, still, the game was exciting and fun to watch. So huzzah for college basketball in Philly, which makes 16 percent three-point shooting somewhat watchable.

Cats romp as Hawks go ice-cold [Inquirer]

College kids are rude? Well I never!

There’s a big giant story in today’s Daily News by two writers I really like and respect (that’d be Dick Jerardi and Dana O’Neil) about the acrimony between St. Joe’s and Villanova basketball fans and how “bad” it’s gotten in recent years. Last night some SJU kids invaded Jay Wright’s radio show.

So, apparently, now the rollouts are meaner, the fans are obscene and some people yelled something nasty at Villanova coach Jay Wright’s wife. Of course, “It’s never people directly attacking her,” Wright says. And now fans deride the opponent rather than cheer on their school.

And then, there’s this:

Last summer, former St. Joe’s superstar Jameer Nelson worked tirelessly with Villanova sophomore Kyle Lowry at the Wildcats’ gym. More than once, Nelson had to go on the campus and rouse Lowry out of bed. Every time he did he got the look.

“Lots of people saw me on campus,” Nelson said. “They looked at me like, ‘What are you doing here?’ I’m helping one of their guys out, that’s what I was doing.”

Yes, and NBA superstar is on a campus of a school he never went to and people are like What are you doing here? How dare they question the great Jameer!

In my other life, I cover Ivy League basketball for a website. (I know. Who knew?) And so I’m at a lot of games, albeit most of them without any players on scholarship. And fans now in general seem to be ruder. This used to bother me. Now I don’t really care. While St. Joe’s-Nova is a very good, fun rivalry — the “Holy War,” natch — the students at these games aren’t meaner to the opposing team than they are to other schools.

Or not. The “rollouts are worse” sentiment seems to be pretty silly since the most infamous rollout of all time, “What’s the Difference between Chris Ford and a dead baby? A dead baby doesn’t suck.” was a long time ago. Ditto the “HA HA HA FUCK YOU” one at a Penn game in ‘82. Or, that sign at the Spectrum, “Patrick Ewing can’t read this.”

But, then again, wondering why Jameer was in a place he was at? How dare you, Villanova fans.

The Dogs of War [DN]
Of Biblical Proportions [Snowballs for Santa]